


It’s Been A Long, Long Time

by the_ren_lover



Series: Truth Be Told [5]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Misunderstandings, Recreational Drug Use, Requited Love, Requited Unrequited Love, Reunions, Sobriety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24768406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ren_lover/pseuds/the_ren_lover
Summary: Two things became clear to Hancock once he got to Sanctuary Hills: Firstly, Kathy had changed, and secondly, those changes were mostly his fault. Will he be able to mend the broken bond between them or will he be returning to Goodneighbor alone? Through all this, Nick Valentine is a very good friend who doesn’t get paid enough to deal with Kathy and Hancock’s drama
Relationships: John Hancock (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s), John Hancock (Fallout)/Reader, John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor, John Hancock/Sole Survivor (Fallout)
Series: Truth Be Told [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780213
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. So Close, So Far

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I’m incredibly grateful that I get to share these adventures with all you readers. Without you, these ideas would never leave my head. Each hit, kudos, comment and bookmark has warmed my heart and made me want to keep writing about Kathy and Hancock’s exploits in the wasteland, so thank you so much for the support. As always, constructive criticism and comments are always welcomed. Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock returns, Nick blows a fuse, and Kathy can’t believe her eyes.

When Hancock crossed the newly repaired bridge into Sanctuary Kathy was utterly unaware. Her hands were half-buried in a flowerbed as she chatted absentmindedly with Codsworth about trying to hook up a gas tank to her newly repaired stove. The sky was a beautiful blue with the tiniest wisps of clouds passing over every few seconds. Even the temperature was kind to the settlers, unusually warm for March even after the nuclear annihilation threw the seasons out of whack. Spring was in the air, rebirth after the season of death, and cheer seemed to follow it everywhere it went. Hancock had assumed somewhere in his pessimistic heart that his return would be marked with a terrible radstorm or a raider attack but, surprisingly, the world took no notice of him. Soon thereafter, though, someone did. 

The first person to notice Hancock’s arrival was Dogmeat, who thankfully had no opposable thumbs with which to ring the intruder alarm at the end of the bridge and no idea of the tension between the ghoul and his master. Hancock smiled at the scruffy little dog who ran up to him as if it didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey little guy,” he muttered while running a hand absentmindedly through the mutt’s fur and wondering why he ever left, “could you show me where Kathy is?” Dogmeat cocked his head to the side. Somewhere in the distance, a bad batch of chems exploded in Cait’s hands, shocking them both. 

“Well Dogmeat, some things never change, huh?” The dog’s tongue just lolled out of his mouth in response. 

The noise of the bang got settlers out of their houses and onto the main street, where they gathered and looked for whatever had caused the noise. In the crowd, Hancock could make out old friends left and right, looking happier and more well-fed than he’d left them. 

Now that Hancock thought about it, Sanctuary had changed drastically since he had been there last. The houses, though they had always been in decent condition, were fully patched up from what he could see, with vegetable gardens sitting snugly against patios and clothes on clotheslines swinging idly in the comfortable breeze. Next to the entrance, some massive mechanical goliath jutted into the sky, rattling a strange hypnotic hum as generators fed it constantly. Strangest of all, Kathy’s house from before the war was adorned with flags and Minutemen regalia, proudly nestled in the middle of her beloved settlement. Man, she had really done well for herself while he was gone.

For a minute, Hancock had forgotten why he was there at all. He stood, dumbfounded, at the end of that little wooden bridge for what felt like hours, just taking in the scenery around him. Part of him was absolutely certain that he should just walk forward and reunite with his friends, and in turn Kathy, but another part of him was screaming that he still didn’t belong. That little part kept him frozen with Dogmeat circling his legs.

Suddenly, though, black eyes locked on to bright yellow ones. Nick Valentine met Hancock’s slack-jawed gaze with shock at first, his silicone eyebrows lifting. When Hancock smiled and waved, that shock was replaced with rage. Uh oh. 

In a split second, Nick was parting the settlers like the red sea, face contorted with rage in a way that seemed unnatural even for him. Hancock knew he could run, turn on his heel and avoid Nick's wrath, maybe even go back to Goodneighbor and enjoy his mayoral luxuries again, but for the first time in his life, Hancock found he didn’t want to. There was something worth whatever the detective had in store for him waiting just moments away. So, he clenched his jaw and waited.

“You bastard,” Nick growled, “you absolutely disgusting bastard!” If the crowd hadn’t noticed Hancock before, they definitely noticed him now. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve got some nerve showing your face here.” He was toe to toe with Hancock now, faces almost close enough to touch. Nick’s stripped hand was squeezed into a tight first, tiny metal finger pointed at Hancock’s face.

“Woah brother, calm down,”

The whispers started then, reminiscent of Hancock’s first months as a ghoul. He was well acquainted with the heavy stares, the hushed voices that seemed to follow him down the street. Every rational part of him knew they weren’t meaning any harm, simply seeking answers from the rest of the herd, but Hancock was well aware he didn’t have very many rational parts. Nick’s lecture was a buzz now, a soft thrum in his ears that he couldn’t quite make out. All that mattered was the judgment wrought upon him. Nobody wanted him there, especially now that Nick was publicly executing his character in the middle of the road. It almost would've been preferable for Nick to have actually executed him right there, a shot through the head or a gaudy execution. None of it mattered anymore until she appeared.

“Nick, what’s going on?”

Hancock’s mind went silent. 

There Kathy was, in all her righteous glory. Never had Hancock seen anything quite as stunning as Kathy in that moment, dressed in a tricorn all her own and a long, blue coat with her shining red hair pulled back into a sloppy bun. He was acutely aware of her gaze as it drifted from Nick to Dogmeat, and finally to him. Her big green eyes were wide in a second as she dropped her trowel, scattering dirt on her white, patent heels. After 3 months, 2 days, and 6 odd hours Hancock had finally come back to her.

For Kathy, it all happened a bit slower. She had risen in the morning as she always did, bathing in cold water from the purifiers and putting on her uniform with pride. From there she had been dragged in several different directions. Preston had wanted her to set out for Jamaica Plains with food and extra supplies but something urged her to stay close to home, which then led her to Deacon who wanted to tweak the teleporter in the hopes of making a quicker route to the Railroad home base. After hours of tinkering, Nick told her she should relax so she ended up trying to transplant an odd flower from the wastes into her garden with Codsworth.

There Kathy stayed, enjoying the sunshine until a bang made her lift her head and look around. Cait was at the chem station across the street, swearing profusely and gripping her hand. “Everything okay over there, Cait?” She chuckled, wiping her free hand on her pants and waving her mucky trowel around haphazardly.

“The damn thing blew up on me!” Cait exclaimed, throwing her now destroyed glassware onto the lawn, “I might’ve added a bit too much Abraxo…”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get it next time,” With that, Kathy was back to work on her garden. Peace was restored momentarily until Codsworth chirped nervously.

“Mum, you might want to see this..”

“Hm? What is it Codsworth?”

Then it rang out through the air like a gunshot,

“You bastard, you absolutely disgusting bastard!”

Rising from her space on the ground, Kathy looked around for the cause of the noise. Settlers were packed together, blocking the road and the view of the situation that needed her attention. Whatever it was it was obviously interesting, worthy of capturing the attention of nearly the whole settlement. Suddenly another shout rang out, making Kathy shiver as she walked through the crowd and tried to figure out what could possibly warrant this much fuss.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve got some nerve showing your face around here,” Well that was… interesting. Still unable to see the fight, Kathy nearly fell over when she heard the voice of the other party.

“Woah brother, calm down,”

She froze. It couldn’t be, could it? It was apparent now that Nick was the one yelling, but the man receiving the verbal beating couldn't be who she thought it was. He had been lost to the wasteland, disappearing without a single trace and leaving her to face the world on her own. There was no way he had simply appeared at her doorstep.

Nick was frantic now, yelling so loud Kathy could almost imagine steam coming out of his ears. In all honesty, she wouldn’t be surprised if the detective had blown a fuse. She quickly found herself at the front of the group, looking for the disturbance. 

“Nick, what’s going on?”

Nick was where she guessed he would be, raging at some unknown visitor at the end of the bridge about 30 feet away. She noticed Dogmeat next, almost wrapped around the stranger’s legs. He had only ever done that with…

Nick turned when he heard her voice, and in that instant she saw him. Hancock was standing at the edge of the bridge, gazing at her with an odd, soft look in his dark eyes. He was dressed the same, with his shotgun slung over one shoulder and a large duffel bag hanging over the other. For weeks she had shoved down every thought of him, every hope that he might come back, but against all odds there he was.

Kathy didn’t notice it, but in her stupor she dropped her trowel onto the concrete, dirtying her shoes. Hancock’s gaze didn’t leave her eyes for a second, though, even with the distractions all around them. It was impossible to put everything she wanted to say to him in words. Despite her inability to express herself, one word tumbled from her lips,

“John,”


	2. Dream A Little Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kathy and Hancock finally renunite, but it’s clear their reunion will not be an easy one.

“John,”

It was barely a whisper as it slipped past her lips; reverent, like a prayer. She never called him John, always Hancock, just like he never called her Katherine. By addressing him with his chosen name, she was able to distance herself from his past. Sometimes she wondered if it was more for her benefit or his. John McDonough was still there, buried deep below years of trauma and drugs and guilt, so if the name Hancock put a comforting barrier up between his past and his present, Kathy had no reason to intrude. After all their time apart, though, she couldn’t find it in herself to put up a barrier between someone she’d fought so hard to get close to. Suddenly, all the pretense between them before his absence felt silly.

“Kathy,”

Hancock’s response was just as soft as he gently pushed Nick to the side, taking a step into the space that divided them. The familiarity was so alien, a far cry from the cluelessness he was used to while wandering the very outskirts of the Commonwealth. There, nobody knew his name and nobody could care less. The only thing that really mattered was that he was able to put caps in their pocket, and for that, they’d call him any name he asked to be called. There Kathy was, a dream given life, and all Hancock had to do was walk over and take it. 

When Hancock took a step forward, Kathy felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. Without warning, Katherine Sheppard was back in a horrible memory, watching Nate drag himself off the bus towards their home with something irreparably broken inside of him. She was a gold star wife again, rushing to the door, trying to fix something that could not be patched up with any amount of children or clean dishes or casseroles no matter how hard she tried. Kathy’s heart was bleeding on the floor, ripped open for what felt like the hundredth time, as a new lover came back from a new war.

Her eyes went hazy with tears, ears ringing so loudly she could barely hear the world around her. Surrounded by people who looked to her as a fearless leader, she snapped under the pressure. All at once, the pain of the past few months flooded her head and heart, compounding with the unresolved pain of times long past and muddling into a deadly cocktail of anger and sadness. Every inhibition built on years of the status quo was stripped away, and Kathy ran towards Hancock without another moment of hesitation.

He opened his arms for her, wrapping her in a tight hug and resting his chin on her head as he had all that time ago in his office at the Statehouse. This time, she didn’t pull away. It was quite a spectacle in the middle of the road, but Hancock didn’t mind. Running away from the attention was the last thing on his mind.

With her face pressed into his jacket, Kathy welcomed in the familiar scents of tobacco and Jet. Hancock was warm and his coat was soft, everything about him was strangely familiar despite the fact that she had rarely ever been this close to him. Slowly, one of his hands made its way up to her head, removing her hat while the other took her hair out of its bun and combed its way through her choppy red locks.

Something about that action was too natural, too routine, and it made Kathy burst into another fit of sobs. Though everything was muffled, she could vaguely hear Nick moving the crowd of onlookers along, giving her and Hancock some semblance of privacy. 

“Kathy,” Hancock whispered, gazing down at her and attempting to capture her attention, “Kathy we really need to talk when you’re ready.” His voice was shaky, unsure. If there was anything that Hancock usually wasn’t, that was unsure of himself. Yet, there he was, vulnerable and doting, the opposite of his usual caddish nature and seemingly all for Kathy’s benefit. “Come on sister, show me those eyes. Please?”

When Kathy looked up, Hancock’s eyes locked onto hers with surprising intensity. He licked his thin, almost absent lips and Kathy melted. At that moment, she knew that there was only one thing to do, only one jump worth taking. Though Kathy’s rational mind screamed, warning her that she could be ruining her one chance to have him back, she silenced it and followed her heart. 

Her hands made their way to Hancock’s lapels, smoothing them gently as she stifled, a wet, pathetic laugh. Confusion flashed onto his face, but it didn’t shake Kathy. 

“Kathy, what are you-“

She pulled him down to her level, tugging gently on his lapels, and cut him off with a kiss.

It was much softer than either of them had anticipated, with Kathy’s lipstick staining Hancock’s trembling mouth a gaudy red. He stiffened, too terrified to move for a moment, but soon was swept away without resisting. His hand in her hair pulled her closer while the other dropped her hat without a second thought, instead wrapping around her back and pressing their chests together. 

They stayed that way, lips pressed together sweetly, until Kathy pulled away, gasping for breath. Then, the dread set in. Though so easily forgotten before, memories of seemingly endless nights crept back into Kathy’s mind with a vengeance. What had she done? 

Hancock, though, was entirely oblivious to Kathy’s internal plight. His heart was thumping out of his chest as his hands loosened their grips on her, giving her room to breathe. “Well that was unexpected…” he said under his breath, letting go of his anxieties and looking down at Kathy. In the midst of their kiss, some of her hair had fallen awkwardly into her face, covering her eyes, so Hancock took it upon himself to brush the hairs away. His touch was exceedingly gentle, scarred fingers skimming her forehead with the utmost gentility.

Kathy wasn’t sure if it was the terror seeping into her bones or the unusually warm sun beating down on her face, but suddenly she wasn’t feeling very well. The sky was so blue it burned her eyes and when she tried to focus on Hancock his body was just a reddish blur. Before she could even react, Kathy was falling into blackness, lost to the recesses of her brain.

Hancock caught her before he was even really aware of what was going on, panic setting into his chest. Her body was limp in her arms but alarmingly light.

“Kathy,” he begged, “Kathy you need to wake up, come on doll, open your eyes for me,” She didn’t respond, still dormant. Helpless and terrified, he slipped an arm under her knees and hoisted her into his arms in the attempt to carry her to safety. Before he could begin walking, though, Nick caught sight of them, rushing to Kathy’s aid.

“What the hell did you do to her Hancock?” Nick’s voice was a low rumble as he stormed to Hancock’s side, picking up the discarded tricorn from its place at his feet. Before Hancock had a chance to respond, Nick sighed loudly and waved him towards Kathy’s house. “It doesn’t matter, get her into the house before anyone else sees her like this.” Despite the urgency of the situation, something in Nick’s tone told Hancock this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with a fainting spell. 

Hancock followed behind him, making sure to support Kathy’s head as he ducked into the doorway of Kathy’s house. He’d been there hundreds of times before but when crossing the threshold, the entryway was entirely different from how it had been on his last visit. 

Overstuffed couches sat next to the wide windows, with dark, thick knit curtains blocking out the light. In the kitchen, a new icebox sat next to a recently repainted oven. The counters were littered with salvaged cutlery and dinnerware juxtaposing the kitchen table, which was entirely bare except for a centerpiece of dried hubflowers. Down to the art on the walls and the freshly cleaned floors, it was a far cry from the drafty, half-destroyed homestead Hancock had left behind. 

“Put her down on the couch, she should start to wake up soon,” Nick was entirely too calm as he rifled through the contents of the slick, metal icebox. As if on cue, Kathy groaned and began to stir.

“Alright sister we’re gonna get you comfy,” Hancock was exceedingly gentle as he set her down on the nearest couch, easing himself down to allow Kathy’s head to rest on his thigh. Nick looked annoyed, trying to ignore Hancock’s presence entirely as he brought a bowl of cold broth over to the pair with a clean spoon.

Squatting down to Kathy’s level, Nick brought a small spoonful of the broth to her lips as her eyelids fluttered a bit. “Kath,” he cooed, almost as if he was talking to a small child, “you need to eat. You forgot to eat yesterday, didn’t you?”

Kathy responded with a groan. Slowly rousing, she lifted her head a bit and wrapped her lips around the spoon, earning a noise of encouragement from the synth. As Hancock watched the gentle moment a pang of jealousy hit his heart. It was hard to watch Nick caring for her while he was utterly powerless. He felt even stupider and more useless when he realised just how skinny Kathy was.

It was easy for Hancock to feel the ridiculous weight loss while she rested on him. The closer he looked, the more alarming it was. Her face was gaunt, with her once round cheeks looking thin and sallow. A more careful glance revealed her ribs jutting out against the thin fabric of her shirt under her jacket. It wasn’t hard to guess why she had been forgetting to eat, a habit she had picked up long before she met Hancock, but he tried to ignore that thought. It was hard enough to watch the effects of his disappearance, he didn’t think he would be able to stand it if he had to acknowledge his part in her suffering. So instead he sat, silent, running his fingers through Kathy’s hair while Nick fed her.

After the bowl was entirely drained, Nick stood and went to wash it in a basin of water sitting on the counter. Taking advantage of the time alone with Kathy, Hancock chuckled a bit and reached into his pocket, whispering in an excited tone to try to rouse her from her daze. “Hey Kathy, guess what I found on my way here?”

She hummed sleepily, looking up at him with barely parted eyes. He pulled a canister of Jet from his pocket in response with more flourish than a magician, making her chuckle. “I’m not sure if Nicky over there will approve, but I brought a little fun to this party,” his tone was still hushed, almost intimate.

He decided to partake first, proving the chem was safe as he inhaled deeply from the canister. As the world slowed down, Hancock took his first deep breath in a long while. Withdrawals had been kicking his ass for the past several days, to the feeling of relief as the chem cycled through his lungs was palpable. When the world gained speed again, he shook the Jet enticingly. “You want a hit or do you want your own canister?” Hancock asked, but despite his showmanship Kathy had returned to her light sleep, arms wrapping around his lean waist as she absentmindedly snuggled closer to his thigh.

“She doesn’t do chems anymore,” Nick snapped from the kitchen, now doing his best to search through Kathy’s endless cans for some purified water. Hancock, unused to the hostility, just chuckled.

“Damn, chrome dome. What’s got your wires in a twist buddy?” he shot back, taking another deep inhale of the Jet before capping it and letting in rest on the arm of the couch. 

“You don’t deserve her.” Nick said in a soft yet stern tone. It seemed he was doing everything he could not to wake the woman in question. There were no excuses for Hancock’s disappearance, but watching the way Nick glared at him he started trying to formulate some

“Look Nicky, I fucked up...bad. I’m not gonna say what I did was right, but what other choice did I have? I couldn’t risk Kathy being the one to leave so I guess I just jumped the gun and did it for her. If you’d been with her that night you’d understand brother, and hey, you never would’ve gotten this close to her if I hadn’t paved the way for you. you should be thankin’ me,” Hancock’s charisma and killer smile couldn’t dig him out of this one it seemed, because as he quipped Nick turned around sharply, walking over to the couch and grabbing Hancock straight by the throat. Despite the jostling, Kathy remained drowsily attached to Hancock’s hip.

“Give me one good reason to let you live you dirty, manipulative, lying scumbag,” Nick growled, his synthetic face mere inches away from Hancock’s scarred one, “because I bet on my fucking life that you have absolutely no defense for abandoning Kath like you did. Do you have any idea what you put her through? The months of absolute anguish where she went from settlement to settlement every goddamn night with barely a cap to her name, high off her ass on every chem she could manage, begging every settler she came across to let her know if they’d seen you. You promised her you’d come back and then left her high and dry, another mess for other people to clean up.”

“Wait, she-”

“No,” Nick cut him off, “you don’t get to talk right now. I’m gonna make this clear to you. When you broke your promise to Kathy you forfeited the right to decide what's best for her. If you want to be anywhere near her in the future, it’s best you listen to me.” The nervous look in Hancock’s eye must have made him feel some remorse, because after his tirade Nick sighed and pulled away, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry Hancock,” he breathed, composing himself, “I just don’t want her getting hurt again. It’s been a long couple of months for all of us.”

“I get it Nicky, don’t worry about it,” Hancock said, looking at Nick before gazing down at Kathy’s resting face again, “I don’t think I could leave her again if I tried. I… I just need some time.”

Nick gathered himself up, sitting on the smaller couch to the right of the one in use, and gave Hancock one last glare. “Hancock, listen to me. No more hard chems, no more trysts, no more anything to do with the old you until she is so far over this that she doesn’t remember you ever left. You’re gonna make yourself useful, you’re gonna do absolutely everything she asks of you, and most of all you’re not gonna leave Sanctuary without an escort until I say you’re not a flight risk. If you so much as set one of your ghoulish toes outside this neighborhood I will personally kill you where you stand and I will enjoy every single minute of it. You got it?” Before Hancock could even nod in agreement, he and Nick both froze at the sound of Kathy sitting up in the darkness with a soft yawn.

“John?” She asked, looking at Hancock through sleep hazy eyes as beams of soft golden light filtered through the gap in the curtains. The beautiful spring day had begun it’s gentle transformation into night without any notice from the trio indoors.

“Yeah Kathy?” Hancock asked.

“I guess it’s probably a good time to talk now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was much longer than I intended it to be and took a lot longer to write than I anticipated. That being said, I hope you enjoy the direction this is headed as we approach the resolution in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!


	3. My Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock and Kathy finally sit down and talk about what happened

Few things terrified Hancock as much as honesty did. Of course he didn’t consider himself a particularly dishonest man, it wasn’t as if he went around telling false tales of his time in the wasteland, but he also didn’t bare his soul to very many. Often, if he accidentally spilt his feelings to someone at the Third Rail in a high, drunken stupor he would make sure to avoid all parties involved for at least 6 months. So, though Hancock was no liar, the truth was a little too frightening for him. That all changed when it came to Kathy.

Despite all of his fears, it was getting much harder to make up excuses for why he couldn’t trust her. There Kathy was, patient and kind, sitting across the kitchen table from him without the slightest trace of fear on her face. She was the perfect picture of domesticity. Hancock could almost see himself sitting at that very table every night for the rest of time, but that was beside the point. It was time for honesty, not daydreams.

“Where have you been,” Kathy had asked. It would have been such an innocent question if Hancock didn’t feel incredibly guilty about leaving. So, there he sat, time ticking on, formulating an answer.

“I left the Commonwealth,” for starters, Hancock decided it was best to tell the plain truth, “travelled west till I hit somethin’ more than forest. To be honest with you, I don’t remember most of it, too many chems.” Kathy hummed in response, brow furrowing.

“That explains why I couldn’t find you,” she muttered. “So, what brought you back here?” There was something in her voice, like she was teetering at some sort of edge. No matter how much that little something made Hancock want to clam up and retreat he wouldn’t let himself self-sabotage when he’d come so far. With a deep breath he continued.

“I met a ghoul who was runnin’ a bar, kinda like the Third Rail but less put together. He opened my eyes to what I was running from… and the importance of what I left behind.” When Kathy looked up and met Hancock’s gaze, she seemed almost hopeful, but soon enough a mask of apathy returned to her face. 

“Why?”

Hancock knew exactly what she was asking. Why did he leave? Why did he promise to wait for her if he didn’t intend to? Worst of all, if he had made the choice to leave, why did he come back? Endless questions were all wrapped into one simple, deadly package. 

“I was terrified,”

Kathy’s mask broke, revealing genuine surprise.

“What?”

“I know you think I’m really brave Kathy, but I’m not, I’m a coward.” Before she could protest, Hancock held his hand up to silence her. “I thought you getting sent off with Nick was a gift. It meant I didn’t have to watch you walk away from me. I could save you the trouble. To me, it was better for me to leave you than lose you so I left, and I’ve never regretted anything more.” 

He was looking down at the table, unable to keep up his cocky facade for even a moment longer. He became aware of a radio humming away somewhere in the distance, probably wherever Nick had wandered off to when Kathy asked for privacy. Stripped bare, Hancock was gone and only John McDonough remained. Slowly tears started to drip down his cheeks, because for the first time in years he felt entirely sober. “I’m so sorry Kathy. I can’t run away anymore, not from you.”

Slowly, Kathy reached a hand out. Hancock only cried harder. The last shred of his dignity told him to ignore it and walk away, but it wasn’t enough. In a moment entirely too tender to be true, Hancock reached out to take Kathy’s outstretched hand. Once he looked up, he noticed she was crying too.

“You idiot,” she said, laughing through the tears, “why would I sleep with you if I was going to leave you?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,”

“John Hancock, I don’t know about the rest of the women in the wasteland, but I don’t sleep with just anybody, even after a few too many,” Her smile was kind, a beacon of normalcy in the darkness. Up until that moment Hancock had still had doubts, but when she sat there smiling up at him there was no uncertainty anymore; everything was gonna be alright. He smiled back, soft and wistful, tears still running down his scarred cheeks.

“If I would’ve stayed, if you hadn’t been called to the Castle, what would’ve happened?” He took a deep breath, prepared for anything.

“Well, before anything else I would’ve started round two,” They both laughed, reveling in the simplicity. After months of complications and anxiety, it was so refreshing to rediscover how wonderful it felt to simply enjoy eachothers company again. Both of their tears had stopped, but red eyes and flushed, wet cheeks remained. “Then, I would’ve asked you if you wanted it to be more than a one night stand.”

Hancock’s heart skipped a beat.

“I know you’re not one for monogamy, but even if I can’t be the only-”

“Yes!”

It was Kathy’s turn to swoon

“If the offer’s still on the table, yes. I want you Kathy, only you,” Hancock leaned forward, gazing at Kathy’s big green eyes with his black ones. The press of her lips on his was enough of an answer for the both of them. 

Hancock took control of the kiss quickly, unlacing his fingers from hers and instead opting to cup her cheeks. Her unmarred, pale skin was so smooth under his rough fingertips, but she didn’t seem to mind, running her tongue along Hancock’s thin bottom lip. The kiss remained innocent, though, only lasting a moment more before Kathy pulled away with a soft pop and a chuckle.

“If only we’d done that before you disappeared off the face of the earth,” With that, Kathy stood up from her seat. Determined, she walked to Hancock’s side and wrapped her arms around him, “but I’m sure you’ll make it up to me.”

“Only every day for the rest of our lives,” With that, Hancock stood as well. Kathy was smiling sweetly, as always, but there was a hint of deviance glinting in her eyes. “Now I believe you said something about round two?” Waggling his nonexistent eyebrows, Hancock let himself be led down the hall to Kathy’s bedroom.

Later, once Kathy was satiated and sleeping soundly in his arms, Hancock found a profound significance in the location of their tryst. This house, with all its flaws and peculiarities, was where she had raised a family nearly 200 years earlier. She had shared pleasure with her husband in a bed not too different from the one they were currently laying in, and across the hall, her baby’s crib was still waiting for an infant who had long outgrown it. There was a lot to live up to within those thin steel walls, but for some reason Hancock didn’t feel threatened.

Talking to the air, he muttered a quick  _ thank you _ , though no amount of thanks would ever be enough. A moment passed, filled with nothing but the whispering wind outside the window, but then Kathy was stirring, snuggling into the crook of his shoulder.

“Are you  _ still _ up?” She droned, running a lazy finger down Hancock’s bare chest, “I thought I had you all tired out earlier.”

“I’m just admiring the view,” Hancock quipped, laying a sloppy kiss on her collarbone and settling down.

“There are a few cigarettes in the drawer next to you, I hid them from Nick,” Kathy was worming her way out of his arms now, stretching upwards with a loud yawn. When Hancock looked at her in surprise, she simply said, “you overthink when you haven’t smoked. We can share one.”

He reached over to the drawer, fumbling in the dark, and sure enough a stiff carton of cigarettes and a lighter was hidden beneath a pile of socks and undergarments. It had been too long since his last smoke, so Hancock found himself sitting up yet again and lighting one of the cigarettes quickly. After taking a few drags, he passed it over to Kathy.

While she smoked and looked for an ashtray in the opposite bedside drawer, he examined the cigarettes. They were odd, somehow. The label wasn’t unusual, but more the fact that it seemed much too legible. After another moment of consideration, he turned to Kathy and held the carton up. “Kath, babe, where did you get these?”

“What, they’re just cigarettes?” She asked, tapping a bit of ash off the end.

“They’re really well preserved though…”

Kathy sighed, taking one last drag before stubbing the cigarette out on her ashtray. “I forgot you weren’t here when I went,” she said, “you aren’t gonna like this John.”

“Did you find a sealed vault or something? Because I can put up with some anti-ghoul rhetoric if you can trade for stuff like this.”

“No, John, I found Shaun.” 

Hancocks thoughts immediately flashed to the empty nursery that had occupied his mind not 10 minutes before. “Oh Kath, is he…”

“He’s alive, but he’s not the son I left behind. I walked through the glowing sea and there was this scientist who gave us some secrets. We found the institute, and we found a way in. They had my baby John, I couldn’t just sit and wait for us to gather enough firepower to storm them!” Tears fell down Kathy’s cheeks for the third time that day.

“You went alone?” Hancock uttered, horrified. If only he had been there maybe he could’ve spared her from whatever she couldn’t quite tell him. 

“I found my little Shaun and he didn’t recognize me, he called for his Father, and then there he really was… my baby is the leader of the Institute, Hancock, he’s almost 60 years old,” Kathy buried her face in his shoulder, smothering the sounds of her cries. Hancock had no option but to run a comforting hand down her back, taking in the new information. After a few moments, when her crying died down a bit, he pulled her close,

“Do you want to stay with him?” He asked, voice gentle in the cool night air.

“I… no. He thinks what they’re doing is right and he won't reconsider. We need to destroy them. I only visit because he’s dying,” she paused, sucking in a deep breath, “John, I have to watch my own son die of cancer.” Her voice was muffled against his skin, but she was slowly relaxing against his body again.

“Well, whatever you choose to do, I’m here Kath,” He breathed, laughing when her face contorted in disgust. “What? I’m trying to be more supportive, doll, don’t laugh at me.”

“No, it’s just that Nick calls me Kath,” at that, Hancock cringed. “See? You can call me Kath, just not in bed. This is one place where I don’t want to be thinking about Nicky,”

They shared a moment of amusement, but exhaustion washed over them soon after, blanketing them in the warmth of intimacy. Caught up in her own sleepy haze, Kathy rolled onto her back but let her face remain against Hancock’s pulse, placing feather-light kisses wherever her mouth would reach. Hancock responded by kissing her forehead.

“Hancock?”

“Yes, Kathy?”

She smiled, half asleep, “If you ever run away again, I’ll rip your dick off.” And with that, she was swept into sleep. Smiling, John Hancock followed her into the arms of the Sandman, just as he’d follow her anywhere as long as she’d let him. Out in the Commonwealth the world was still a disaster, but in that little house in Sanctuary Hills, nothing could have been better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the delay on this chapter! I wanted to do this series justice and provide a resolution that felt satisfying. I hope you enjoy this chapter and have enjoyed this series up to this point. I’m going to continue to write about Kathy and Hancock’s journeys in the Commonwealth, but for the near future the stories will be a bit fluffier. If you have any suggestions about ideas for one-shots, feel free to leave them in the comments. Thank you for being so supportive. As always, constructive criticism and comments are always welcome. 
> 
> (I made a playlist on Spotify for while I write these, feel free to enjoy it! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6730lXGmvNPnUSg42XBm7t?si=2KrYIKSQSaitmfsS3JEWHQ )


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